There are millions of dogs in the US, and around 50,000 police dogs. However, just one clever canine has achieved the ‘Human Trafficking’ qualification from the United States Police Canine Association to add to her impressive résumé.
Volunteer K9 Besa, a 10-year-old German Shepherd who works with the Ohio Special Response Team, is trained to help people in danger. As a result, she has become the only service dog in the entire country to be awarded the ‘Human Trafficking’ qualification.
Her handler, Sarah Gentry, told Cleveland 19 News that Besa had to prove she could find people in hidden rooms, in vehicles with the windows closed, and outdoors to get the certification, explaining, “It’s a good feeling obviously you can be proud of your dog, and then be able to help people some day.”
Gentry also told PetsRadar: “I am blessed to have a dog like Besa!”
Captain Alan Plastow of the Search & Rescue Unit said, “We send the dog out looking for [missing people] with either a scent article, something they’ve worn, or the dog will find anyone alive in a given area.
“Statistically in Ohio, an excess of 24,000 kids go missing every year. Are they trafficked? Nobody knows until we find them.”
Last year, more than 400 people were identified as human trafficking survivors in Ohio, with the number this year so far standing at 23.
The search team hosted demonstrations at the All American Cleveland Pet Expo at the I-X Center from April 4–6 to raise awareness of their work, Plastow adding, “If your family member goes missing you have the right to ask the police to involve us,” said Plastow.
As for Besa, she was deployed to help with the recent disaster in North Carolina. She was also awarded the Award for Canine Excellence in the Search and Rescue Dog Category, as awarded by the American Kennel Club Humane Fund, last December.
Here are some pictures of her at work.
Gentry said at the time, “It is an overwhelming honor to be chosen amongst such a great group of handlers and K-9s who are all deserving of recognition. Receiving this award helps validate the work we’ve done over the years and inspires me to work even harder.”
Besa has gone through some difficult times in her life, too. She almost died from leptospirosis, a blood infection caused by bacteria that killed her sister, Gertie – and is one of the most common illnesses dogs get – and survived a car accident alongside Gentry that left their car totaled. Besa survived emergency surgery last year too, but eagerly returned to work after her stitches were removed.
To find out more about heroic dogs who help people every day, here are 32 things to know about service dogs
